The five finalists for the AP NFL Coach of the Year award were recently announced. The winner of the award will be revealed at NFL Honors on Feb. 8.
Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski might win Coach Of the Year honors for the second time, while Houston’s DeMeco Ryans can claim the hardware after his first season piloting the Texans.
Dan Campbell continued to boost the Detroit Lions to new heights in his third season of leadership. Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan guided their teams to No. 1 playoff seeds in their respective conferences.
NFL Coach of the Year Award Odds
All NFL odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook and are current as of Monday, Jan. 29, at 8 a.m. ET.
- Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns (-1000)
- DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans (+1100)
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions (+1500)
- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens (+2500)
- Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers (+3500)
Stefanski clearly has the best odds to win the Coach of the Year award, but he is no lock. Ryans instantly took the Texans to the playoffs as a first-year head coach, and Campbell is a sentimental favorite.
Harbaugh and Shanahan had two of the best rosters in the NFL, so they are longer shots despite their teams finishing with 13 and 12 wins, respectively.
NFL Coach of the Year Prediction
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Wager: 1 Unit
Stefanski lost his starting quarterback and superstar running back, yet he still drove the Browns to 11 wins. He can now earn the Coach of the Year Award again after winning it in 2020.
Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 10, and Nick Chubb went down for the year in Week 2 with a knee injury. His fourth QB of the season, Joe Flacco, was out of the league when Stefanski summoned him to lead the Browns to four wins to close the regular season on their way to the playoffs,
Amari Cooper and David Njoku stepped forward on offense and became two of five Cleveland players to make the Pro Bowl. The Browns led the NFL in total defense and passing yards per game.
Best NFL Coach of the Year Sleeper Bets
DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Wager: 1 Unit
If the Pro Football Writers’ Association Awards are a good indicator of the AP voting results, then Ryan will be honored for transforming the Texans from a bottom-rung team to a playoff squad in one season. Ryans took Houston from worst to first, from three to 10 wins.
Ryans and sensational rookie QB C.J. Stroud paired to make the Texans the first-ever team to win a division with a first-year head coach. Defensively, Houston improved from last in the NFL in rushing defense to sixth.
Under Ryans, the Texans won their first AFC South title since 2019. The turnaround is even more impressive, considering that Houston had won a total of 11 games in its three previous seasons.
Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Wager: 0.5 Units
Campbell continued to elevate the Lions in 2023, as he piloted them to 12 wins, improving from nine in 2022 after he started with three victories in 2021. Detroit tied its record for most victories in a regular season and won its first division title in 30 years with Campbell at the controls.
The Campbell-led Lions tied a franchise record with six road wins, and for the first time since 1972, they did not lose consecutive games in a single season. Detroit also won seven games by double digits, and they finished second in the NFL in total offense and first in red zone efficiency.
